"Sometimes, our guests, when they come to the park, the sun may still be out," said Don Helbig, the park's spokesman. "They wonder, 'Why are they shutting down some of the rides?' Because we know when severe weather is approaching the park and we want to be prepared. We don't wait until it hits us."

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Park officials monitor their own Doppler radar system so they know which rides to close and when.

Helbig said the tallest rides, such as The Beast and Diamondback, are typically shut down first, along with the water park.

"You'll run some of the flat rides and things like that, but when there is lightning in the area, you'll probably have all of the rides closed," Helbig said.

Kings Island employees are also trained to deal with severe weather such as high winds or tornado warnings.

"There's also an action plan in place in which each of the departments are responsible for sections of the park, so we'll go out and get all of our guests together and get them into shelters in the park," Helbig said.